Sorry voters, Youkilis was Boston's MVP in one (5-9) man's opinion

Congratulations, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, on being voted the 2008 American League Most Valuable Player.

Now take that trophy, jog toward your position in Fenway Park and hand it to your teammate on the right side of the Boston infield, first baseman Kevin Youkilis (pictured). Unless of course Youkilis is playing third base in place of an injured Mike Lowell, as he did in 36 regular-season games and much of the playoffs, or maybe filling in as the right fielder in J.D. Drew's place (Youk has played left field, too, in the past but not in 2008).

And if he took the field and squatted behind the plate in catcher's gear, I would not be shocked; somebody has to help Kevin Cash replace Jason Veritek.

Yes, Youk is that versatile; should the Red Sox sign Angels first baseman Mark Teixeira, Youkilis will switch to one of the other corners -- you pick -- and still produce like a champ.

It's that multipositional effort that gives Youkilis the edge in this discussion. He even hit better at third base (.328) than he did at first (.310).

Pedroia led the AL in hits, runs and doubles in helping the Red Sox win the wild-card berth. He batted .326 with 17 home runs and 83 RBIs and also stole 20 bases in 21 attempts. He also won a Gold Glove at his position.

He drew 16 of the 28 first-place votes cast by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America and finished with 317 points, with the Twins' Justin Morneau second.

Youkilis (.312, 29 HRs, 115 RBIs) was third in the voting with 201 points, including two first-place votes.

But take the numbers a little farther. Youkilis had a .390 on-base percentage, slugged .569 (3rd in the AL) and had a .958 OPS (4th).

Pedroia's numbers in those categories: .376, .493 and .869, all three inferior to those of his teammate.

Want more numbers? Youkalis batted .267 with the bases empty but .358 with runners on. With RISP, Youkalis hit .374; with RISP and two outs, he hit .328.

Pedroia's numbers in those categories: .338 with bases empty, .310 with runners on, .307 with RISP, .231 with RISP and two outs.

And, Napoleons of the 21st Century, there is no bias here against small players. Pedroia is a heck of a player no matter what size he is, and this writer's favorite Angel in the 60s was Albie Pearson slightly (no pun intended) over Jose Cardenal and Jim Fregosi.

For the record, growing up watching Pete Rose play second, third, right, left and first is what led me to respect the multipositional performer.

Ever since the Boston media began touting Pedroia as a strong MVP candidate in mid-summer, I always thought it was the bald guy with beard instead. And please, number crunchers, don't start talking about Value Over Replacement Player.

Replacement player is a dirty word in baseball, and there's no reason to bring labor strife into this discussion.

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